The British War of Subjugation
The British War of Subjugation was a war between mainly Scotland and England, however, The Icelandic Kingdoms and the Grey Confederacy helped in the conflict. The war lasted three years, and while Scotland and Iceland enjoyed it's victory, pushing England out of the British isles, it left quite a sizeable scar in the aftermath. Begining: The war itself started when England invaded Wales, a sovereign, independent kingdom. Scotland, denounced this and vowed to take action if England did not stop. Wales, almost crushed by the English army, manages to fight back. England, however, was not pleased with Scotland's intereference or its threats, and sent Sir Rysis of York to demand that the Scottish king stand down. Scotland responded by sending his head on a platter to King William, and thus, war was declared between Scotland and England. Iceland's pact with Scotland did not come yet to be--as King Edwin Hakaani decided that this was a home fight, for now. Battle of Dumfries Farms: The first battle in the war happened outside of Dumfries. King William sent its armies to loot, burn and gather supplies, and Scotland met it head on. The battle started at noon, with the English trumpets blaring at the Scottish advance. The English army quickly reformed itself, stopping all pillaging and burning to meet the Scottish army. The ensuing bloodbath left Scotland as the victor, and King Edwin, while at the head of the army, sustained a wound to the chest mid-battle and had to retreat. Warhammers are a nasty thing. After the initial Scottish charge, the English army broke soon-after. King William took the more professional soldiers and left the peasant leavies to hold off the Scots to cover their retreat. This battle counted as a victory for Scotland. ---- The Battle of Stirtling Bridge: After the initial battle, King Edwin needed to recover from the blow. However, he did so quickly--and half hazardly. While his chest was still purple from a British warhammer blow, he led the army against the Brits, hopefully catching them before they managed to reform and regroup. This was the first Scottish offensive. The British, however, had other plans. They reformed quicker then anyone expected, and moved again in an offensive against Scotland. The two charging armies found each other when they were right under each other's noses, and a bloodied battle ensued. Highlanders swooped from rank to rank, British Knights crashed and disolved them--all while pikemen were pushing them into the water and holding them off with murderous efficency. This second battle proved to be another minor Scottish victory, as King William threw away the remainder of his levy militia. ---- The First Battle of York: Confident in his abilities, King Edwin soon pushed south--after two minor victories, he felt it was need to end this war soon, before any more casualties were sustained. The only Scottish goal of the war was to push south, capture York and if the battle was too bloody, burn it to the ground and retreat back to Scotland. However, the goal of the war changed as it dragged on. Mainly, the first battle of York was a failure on the Scottish end. The men were tired, supply lines were not yet established and the King pushed for York to be taken. When the army got there, Scotland fought valiantly against Britain--and would have taken the British army, if it weren't for treachery by the Grey Confederacy. Flanking the battle, and the whole war, came Confederate troops, right in the most intense moment of the battle. Charging out of the Yorkshire woods, they've been hiding and waiting for the right time. So many men died because of their treachery--and King Ediwn's ear was clipped by a Confederate axe. With the shock of ambush, the King sounded the retreat, and the battle will forever go down in the history book as a Scottish defeat. ---- The Second Battle of York: The most climactic and important battle of the whole war, this is the fourth battle in the British War of Subjugation. They say attack is the best defense, and the King wasn't waiting to be attacked himself. After a quick resupply and rearm, he set out to attack the combined forces. Now with the Icelanders on the way, he only hoped they would get there in time. Since this was no longer a domestic threat, he felt asking upon help from the Icelanders did not infringe upon his honour. The British and Confederate soldiers met the Scots head on, and for a moment, while interlocked in the bloody melee, it seemed like they had the upper hand. With greater numbers, and greater effectiveness, they began to push the Scots back. However, right in the nick of time, the Icelandic warriors showed up, tipping the whole battle, and perhaps saving the entire Kingdom with it. It was on this battlefield, in the heat of battle, that King Edwin promised the Icelandic lord that he would marry one of Iceland's daughters as a reward for their help. The British and the Confederates were then quickly broken, as the ambushing Icelanders came from behind of the British lines--being dropped off in Southern England, and managed to catch the enemy off-guard. This battle was a turning point in the war. It guaranteed Scottish victory--however, it was more 'when' then 'if'. ---- The Battle of Leeds: After York was taken, and the British were routed, it was only a matter of time before all of England would fall. Now, King Edwin, empowered by the Icelanders, marched onward south. The Battle of Leeds was Scotland's last 'serious' battle, as Scotland alone beat the Confederate and British armies. Iceland's warriors helped even more, and the enemy was broken and scattered. London was open for attack, and King Edwin was now taking this chance. ---- The Final Battle, AKA Battle for London: After having some time to rest, king Edwin marched his armies down into London. It would seem like King William and most of the nobility fled, quickly, and his professional army was all that stood between Scotland and ultimate ruling in the war. The British, howver, out up an extremely fomidable fight. The professional soldiers that were left levied the citizenship into an army, and fought inch for inch, street for street, until the British army was broken into oblivion. Contrary to popular belief, not all of London burned--only the noble's and market district. Looted and pillaged, the party and celebration set off a few sparks, but the infernos were not intentional, assures the King's Hand. ---- Aftermath: After the war was over, Scotland was left with an unstable new land to deal with, and the not-so-stable old land of Scotland. People were not happy. The war cost tons of lives, tons of harvests, and the only resolution was that there would be no English threat for a while. While this calmed down some of the populace, roads, farms and new systems of food distribution were to be developed to provide relief in the heavily scarred countrysides. The Treaty of York officially ended the war against The Grey Confederacy, but Scotland and what is now King William's realm of 'Normandy', are at an unspoken, uneasy ceasefire. Category:Empire Builder 4 Category:Conflict